Process of forming and preparing bag tubes for use in making filled bags



'm 'reo STA- PATENT OFFHCE. I I

ADELMEB H. BATES, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T0 BATES VALVE BAG GOE- Y:

PANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF WEST VIZ R'GINIA.

rnocnss or ronmne am) PREPARING BAG TUBES FOR USE IN MAKING- rmnn shes.

Application filed October 3,1819; Serial ,No. 328,311.

To all wkomz'tmayconcem: v

Be it known that I, ADELMER M. Barns,

a citizen of the United States, residing at' Chicago, in the county of Cook andState of Illinois, have invented a certain new .and useful Improvement in Processes of Forming and Preparing Bag Tubes for Use in Making Filled Bags, of which the following is a specification. My invention relates to a method of preparing and storing tubes of bag fabricfin proper condition for use in machines whlch when supplied with such tube and the material to be filled into the, bags produce filled finished bags. My invention is diagrammatically illustrated in the accompanying drawings Wherein.

Figure l is a diagrammatic illustration of one process of making thetubes;

Figure 2 diagrammatically illustrates another process of making and storing the tubes in connection with a single apparatus;

Figure 3 illustrates a stored tube in proper condititon for use in the machine.

Figure 4: is a view from below, of the structure shown in Figure 3.

Like parts are indicated by like letters'in all the figures.

A is a roll of bag-making fabric, the two edges of which are gathered together as at B and sewed to form a tube.

The finished tube C may be run on to a reel D whence, as needed, it is athered on a storage tube very much smaller in crow section than the diameter of the tube C and provided at its-ends with holding devices whereby a great length of tube may be assembled on a short holding and filling tube;

E is a bag tube forming tube. I The cloth of the roll is brought to this tube with its edges together and here they are united, as for example, by a sewing machine F. Then the tube is reversed to form the finished tube J with a longitudinal seairi inside. This tube J inthe process of its formation is' fed down onto the short storage and filling tube which is removably attached in position, the crosssection of which is materially less than that of the distended bag tube. When a suitable length of bag tube has thus been stored, it is severed from the roll or the entire roll may be made into a continuous bag tube The tube as it 'is resting on the holder is longitudinally collapsed until it, .takes the form J, and when a suitable length of tube has been put on'the' holder the funnel J 2 is preferably attached to one endof such filling I tube, or, if preferred, any other form of en-;

largement may be used to prevent the bag tube from escaping from the'fillingtube at this end. The other end is provided with an enlargement J which must be, materially larger in cross-section than the body of the filling tube and of sufficient size to prevent the ready passage of the bag tube thereover. This enlargement may be of any form, as for example, oblong or flattened, so asto collapse the bag tube horizontally as it 'es-' capes over the enlargement, as shown in dotpreferred form, the body of the spool is a tube, then one enlargement assumes the form of a funnel preferabl adapted to'hold a quantity of material su cient to fill one form of a spreading device which when the bag tube is fed off brings its two sides somewhat closely together so as to facilitate the sewing or closing operation,

These filled supporting sections ortubes consist therefore of ;two enlarged ends,

over oneof which the bag tube may pass. with difiiculty, and a long body portionwhich is very much smaller in cross section than the distended bag tube, so that the latof the bags proposed to be formed from the tube, and the other enlargement takes the ter can be compressed or puckered or collapsed thereon between the two end enlarge ments. It would be quite possible, of course, to store'the tubes on rods, or'spools with'rod bodies, from which the bag tubes could be subsequently transferred to the filling tubes ofv the fillingmachine. Y

The use and operation ofmy invention will be clear from the foregoing. I have I also prefer to directly feed such reversed tube onto the storage tubes. It is evident,

however, that these various steps may be" greatly altered or transposed witho ut departing from the spirit of my invention.

In the manufacture of bags from tubes of bag fabric it is sometimes desirable to manufacture the tubes entirely apart from the bag filling and making operation. In that event the tube making apparatus can be operated at any point and at any speed. The tubes so made. are preferably reversed and in any event they must be assembled on proper storage devices, which are preferably the filling tubes subsequently employed 1n the machine. In actual operation it would be of very little value to make a short length of tube and hence I am concerned with the case where a great length of tube is made, as for example a tube equal in length to the entire length of the roll of fabric. Such tube, since the material must be fed into it from one end to the other, must be. compressed'within a very short length, and this is done by collapsing the tube and threading it upon a short storage piece or tube. These tubes so stored can now be transported, stored and used as the case may require, in a machine or by hand to be converted into filled ba s. The storage device is referably the filling tube or tube through W ich the material is fed, for obviously the material must be fed through the entire length of the tube and thereforeT prefer working my invention by including the ideav of threading in a lon gitudinally collapsed condition, the entire length of the bag tube on a short filling tube and this must therefore be of a cross section very much smaller than that of the distended bag tube.

When the stored tubes are to be used the lower end of the tube is drawn out from under the spring and pulled down until aproper bag length is released. The lower end is closed and the material is then fed into the funnel above and down through the tube until the bag portion is filled. The tube is then seamed or closed above the bag portion and this part is severed from the rest of the tube to form the finished bag.

By storage piece, I mean to include any form of device which will serve to hold the bag tube, particularly in its collapsed condition. This storage piece might consist of.

a single rod or a tube or of two or more rods or any other convenient arrangement.

In the claims I have used the term bag fabric? and I want it of course understood that this term is used in the broadest sense maaeee of any kind of bag or tube fabric no matter how or of what made. The tube or bag fabric might for instance be made of cloth or woven material, it-might be of paper, rubber, or even of metal so longas it is such a flexible fabric ascan be collapsed and stored in the manner shown and described.

I claim: i

1. The method of formin and preparin bag fabric tubes foriuse in bag making an filling which consists in forming a bag fabric tube of relatively great length and progressively as it is formed folding the same in a ongitudinally collapsed condition onto a storage piece of relatively short length and of a cross section much less than that of the distended tube.

2. The me hod of forming and preparing bag fabric tubes for use in bag making and filling which consists in forming a bag fabric tube of relatively great length and progressively as it is formed, reversing it and threading and folding it in a longitudinally collapsed condition onto a storage piece of relatively short length and of a cross sepotion much less than that of thedistended tu e.

3. The process of makin and storing bag fabric tube for use in a a forming machine, which consists in formlng a tube, collapsing it longitudinally, threading it upona stem until a great len' th of tube has been stored upon a relative y small length of stem, and confining said collapsed threaded tube upon said stem to prevent its escape 1% from either end thereof.

4. The process of storing bag fabric tube for use in a tube formin machine which consists in collapsing sue a tube lon tudinally, threading 1t upon a stem unti a great length of tube has been stored upon a relatively small length of stem, and confining the entire length of said tube upon said stem to prevent its escape from either end thereof;

5. The method of preparing bag tubes for use in a bag filling and closing machine which consists in forming a bag tube, collong flexible bag forming tube into arela tively 'short longitudinally. collapsed mass and at the same time maintaining an unobstructed opening throughoutthe entire length of the collapsed tube, and confining 12 5 i the tube in collapsed condition 'until ready for use. I

7. The process of preparing bag tubing for use in bag forming and filling machines .which consists in compacting a relatively 130 lon flexible bag-forming tube in longitudiin the resence of two witnesses this 17th na-l y collapsed condition in a storage zone day of eptember, 1919.

and maintaining along the axis of sai storage zone a material feeding zone of crosssection materially less than the cross-section of the distended bag. tube.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature ADELMERM. BATES.

Witnesses: E. B. S'rocx,

EDNA B. Pm'imson. 

